...singling out Clinton's voice as horrible necessarily invokes the woman-specific sexist context, even if that is not your intent.

So if you're inexorably compelled to criticize Hillary's voice, just know that you've got to own the sexist context, too.

Look, we make fun of male candidates. We joke around about how they look and sound and it's often unfair and unrelated to their qualifications for office. It's part of the vivid debate we have in America. We don't have to pull back and tone it down because a woman (or a black person) is running. The candidates are seeking vast power. We should be irreverent and unafraid.

McEwan apparently means to be a good feminist by saying things they teach you to say in Women's Studies class, hushing and chiding us, and grasping after moral high ground with vague references to "history," but this notion that a powerful woman needs special protection from the full force of political debate -- with all its vicious mockery -- is not good for women. It may be stupid or unfair to judge a candidate by her laugh, but to cry sexism is lame.

As regulars may remember, I downloaded the Hillary Clinton cackle, set it as the ring tone in my cell phone, and played it for Coco. I don't know how impressed she was, but she is female, and she prefers female humans to male humans.

Once again, here's Coco reacting to the Hillary cackle:

Melissa McEwan, are you calling my bitch a sexist?

On what basis?

Or am I the one who's accused of sexism for downloading the ring tone and playing it for Coco? Why? As it happens, I did exactly the same thing with Mitt Romney's laugh. So what? I didn't support Romney and I can't stand Hillary. And I laughed at both their laughs. Will someone explain why I am sexist only for ridiculing Hillary's laugh, but not Romney's? By this logic I guess I'd be racist if I made Coco listen to a Barack Obama ring tone.

Sheesh.

While this is almost enough to make me lose my sense of humor, at least I can say that the ostensibly feminist champions of a humor-free society haven't gotten to Coco. Here's a picture I took this picture of her just an hour ago:

(Clearly having the last laugh....)

MORE: Regarding the race issue, Glenn Reynolds links Ann Althouse's post, adding that "mocking Obama is always racist, no matter how mockable he may be." (So says the Obama campaign.)

And Rick Moran's post about Obama's friendship with Ayers ("in the Age of Terror... our President being on a first name basis with an unrepentant terrorist is probably a bad example to set") reminded me that every Republican should hope this unelectable man is the nominee, and the rational strategy is to vote for him to the extent possible. My worry, as I've said many times, is that Hillary can still beat him, and that in the course of the battle with Obama she'll come out smelling more like a centrist than ever before.

(Which would really give her something to cackle over....)

If there is a Republican argument for Hillary based on strategy, I'm all ears.